comments in () by Stephen P. Wenger
Weekly Reminder: HR 45 has not even gained one co-sponsor in committee
and S 2099 died nine years ago. It is not necessary to forward the
hysterical mailings to me.
Friday, January 23, 2009
U.S. Representative Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) recently sponsored H.R. 45,
also known as "Blair Holt's Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act."
The bill is, at its core and as its name implies, a licensing and
registration scheme.
The measure calls for all handgun owners to submit to the federal
government an application that shall include, among many other things:
a photo; an address; a thumbprint; a completed, written firearm
safety test; private mental health records; and a fee. And those are
only some of the requirements to be licensed!
The bill would further require the attorney general to establish a
database of every handgun sale, transfer, and owner's address in
America. Moreover, the bill would make it illegal to own or possess a
"qualifying firearm" -- defined as "any handgun; or any semiautomatic
firearm that can accept any detachable ammunition feeding device…"
without one of the proposed licenses.
Additionally, the bill would make it illegal to transfer ownership of
a "qualifying firearm" to anyone who is not a licensed gun dealer or
collector (with very few exceptions), and would require "qualifying
firearm" owners to report all transfers to the attorney general's
database. It would also be illegal for a licensed gun owner to fail to
record a gun loss or theft within 72 hours, or fail to report a change
of address within 60 days. Further, if a minor obtains a firearm and
injures someone with it, the owner of the firearm may face a
multiple-year jail sentence.
H.R. 45 is essentially a reintroduction of H.R. 2666, which Rush
introduced in 2007. H.R. 2666 contained much of the same language as
H.R. 45, and was co-sponsored by several well-known anti-gun
legislators--including Barack Obama's chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel.
H.R. 45 currently has no co-sponsors.
Rest assured that NRA-ILA will continue to monitor this bill closely,
and will keep you informed of any developments if they materialize.
http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/Federal/Read.aspx?id=4329
In the last few weeks, NRA-ILA has received hundreds of e-mails
warning us about "SB-2099," a bill that would supposedly require you
to report all your guns on your income tax return every April 15.
Like many rumors, there's just a grain of truth to this one.
Someone's recycling an old alert, which wasn't even very accurate when
it was new.
There actually was a U.S. Senate bill with that number that would have
taxed handguns - nine years ago. It was introduced by anti-gun Sen.
Jack Reed (D-R.I.), and it would have included handguns under the
National Firearms Act's tax and registration scheme. This has nothing
to do with anyone's Form 1040, of course.
Fortunately, S. 2099 disappeared without any action by the Senate,
back when Bill Clinton was still in the White House. We reported
about it back then, just as we report about new anti-gun bills every
week. Now, it's time for gun owners to drop this old distraction and
focus on the real threats at hand.
http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/Federal/Read.aspx?id=4925
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From GOA: Charles Babington of the Associated Press reported yesterday
about the Senate Democratic leadership's latest sleazy maneuver to
pass the anti-gun health care bill. And this is contemptible even by
their admittedly low standards: "White House and Democratic officials
are quietly talking with key senators, hoping to craft a
thread-the-needle strategy on health care with little or no help from
Republicans. The officials are asking a handful of moderate Democrats
to do something that might be hard to explain to voters: Cast a Senate
vote that could be interpreted as favoring a bill that the lawmakers
ultimately plan to oppose on final passage." In other words, they are
trying to convince the swing votes - Ben Nelson of Nebraska, Mary
Landrieu of Louisiana, Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor of Arkansas,
perhaps Joe Lieberman of Connecticut - to "throw" their vote on a
pivotal filibuster vote. Bottom line: they are being asked to side
with the ObamaCare supporters when it comes to the all important
"cloture" vote - which is the real hurdle that ObamaCare supporters
must overcome if they are to pass the bill in the Senate… (Link will
allow you to generate an e-mail to your senators.)
http://capwiz.com/gunowners/issues/alert/?alertid=14045911
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Public-Employee Unions and the RKBA: The previous article showed that
there is a correlation between lawyer campaign contributions and gun
control voting: As lawyer contributions comprise a larger portion of a
Congressman's total campaign fund, the representative is more likely
to vote for gun control… According to the Center for Responsive
Politics (CRP): "Public sector unions represent workers at every level
of government – federal, state and local." The CRP continues: "This
broad category encompasses teachers, firefighters, police officers,
postal workers and any other employee of the government at any level."
Since 1990, public sector unions have contributed over $182 million to
federal campaigns, placing this industry group 15th overall in total
contribution amounts between 1990 and the present. For the 2008
election cycle, this group contributed over $19.1 million, with 89%
($17,047,766) going to Democrat candidates. The U.S. Census Bureau
estimates that there were 17,144,144 full-time public employees in
2007, meaning that their unions contributed about $1.11 per full-time
employee. As with lawyers, certain public employee groups are on
record for being pro-gun control…
http://www.examiner.com/x-2879-Austin-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m9d18-Your-taxes-at-work-against-you
http://www.examiner.com/x-2879-Austin-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m9d18-Public-sector-unions-Your-taxes-at-work-against-you-Part-2
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The Beat Goes On: While a remarkable surge that began late last year
is starting to ease, Americans' demand for firearms and ammunition -
driven largely by economic concerns and the fear of new regulations -
remains brisk as double-digit sales increases continue to fill the
financial coffers of gun and ammo makers alike. In August, the number
of background checks performed by the Federal Bureau of
Investigation's Instant Criminal Background Check System was up 12.3%
from the same month in 2008 to about 1.1 million. That is down from
the nearly 42% increase of November but is still a growth rate that
would be the envy of virtually every other consumer product category.
And, while the number of background checks is a good barometer of
sales, that doesn't tell the whole story as some of them may have been
performed on purchases of multiple firearms. In addition, some private
transfers and gun show sales are exempt so the actual number of guns
sold is likely higher… Among the main worries are a reinstatement of
the ban on some semiautomatic rifles, often called "assault weapons,"
huge increases in federal excise taxes on ammunition and a lifting of
the "gun show loophole" on background checks… He also noted that a
widespread ammunition shortage, although also starting to abate, may
keep some buyers away as they are unlikely to purchase a firearm they
won't be able to load, much less fire. Manufactures like ATK… and
Olin… have been ramping up production but are still running behind
demand…
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/firearms-ammo-see-explosive-sales-growth-2009-09-18
Anyone even remotely familiar with gun isses is aware that gun sales
started picking up as soon as it became apparent that gun banner
extraordinaire Barack Obama was likely to be elected. The spike
became especially dramatic immediately after the election, and was
sustained for months. As had to happen eventually, the huge surge in
gun sales has levelled off, but a look at NICS background checks (a
pretty reliable gauge of relative numbers of sales) shows that sales
are still up (pdf file). To those who believe More Guns=More Violence,
this rapid growth in the number of privately owned firearms is
alarming. Violent crime must be going through the roof! . . . Or
not, according to the FBI, at least not in 2008 (remember, the spike
started before Obama's election in November), when violent crime
actually went down for the second year in a row, to the lowest levels
seen in at least twenty years. Granted, if the huge increase in the
number of privately owned firearms is having an impact on violence,
most of that impact would not be seen until we have the stats for this
year, and actually, given the state of the economy, I would not be
terribly surprised if there is some increase. Still, if violence were
spiking to anywhere close to the degree gun sales have, I suspect we
would have noticed it by now…
Appeals Court Hears Gun-Related DC Case: A federal appeals court heard
arguments today in a Fourth Amendment case that has united civil
libertarians and gun rights advocates against the District of Columbia
government. At issue before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C.
Circuit was the question of whether a plaintiff could sue the city for
wrongly targeting him with an arrest warrant, even though it was
quickly withdrawn. The case was dismissed by a district court judge,
who found that the man, Robert Ord, lacked standing… Ord sued the
District in 2008, after the police issued, then rescinded, an arrest
warrant claiming he illegally carried firearms into the city. A
Virginia resident, Ord ran a private security company, and was
designated a Special Conservator of the Peace. That should have given
him the right to carry his weapon in Washington, where he had
significant amount of business, he argued. In his suit, he claimed he
could no longer work in Washington because he feared the city would
might try to arrest him again. He also argued that police had violated
the Fourth Amendment, which states "no Warrants shall issue, but upon
probable cause." The city countered that because Ord had never been
arrested, he had not suffered any harm, and the court could not grant
any relief…
From SAF: The Second Amendment Foundation today renewed its pledge to
sue Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels if he pushes through a proposed rule
that would ban legally-carried firearms in city Parks and Recreations
Department facilities. The proposed rule change was announced Friday
morning. SAF founder Alan Gottlieb quickly noted that this rule would
violate Washington State's long standing firearms preemption statute,
first adopted more than 25 years ago. That law has become a model for
similar state laws all over the country. "This must be Greg Nickels'
desperate parting shot at gun owners who worked hard to make sure he
did not survive the primary election last month," Gottlieb observed.
"He has already been advised by Attorney General Rob McKenna's office
that he has no authority to impose gun laws that are more restrictive
than state statute, and under state law, private citizens may legally
carry concealed handguns on public property if they're licensed to do
so. Public property does not belong to Mayor Nickels," he added, "it
belongs to the people…"
http://www.saf.org/viewpr-new.asp?id=303
Mayor Greg Nickels on Friday proposed a rule to ban guns in more than
500 Parks and Recreations Department facilities across Seattle where
children and youth go - places like sports fields, playgrounds and
swimming pools… Signs would be posted that say firearms are prohibited
as a condition of entry into the facilities. Nickels' announcement is
his latest attempt to ban firearms from city property. The mayor began
efforts after a man shot and injured three people at the 2008 Folklife
Festival at Seattle Center. But an opinion issued late last year by
Attorney General Rob McKenna's office said cities lack the authority
to ban guns because local laws would conflict with state regulations.
Friday afternoon McKenna's spokesman said Nickels' latest plan still
runs afoul of state law…
http://www.seattlepi.com/local/410303_guns18.html
Seattle's mayoral candidates Mike McGinn and Joe Mallahan said Friday
afternoon they support Mayor Greg Nickels' proposal to ban firearms in
city parks, community centers and pools intended for children and
youths. McGinn said simply he supports the idea proposed Friday
morning, while Mallahan's support was a little more qualified. "Joe
thinks its a great start toward making children safer in these public
venues," Mallahan spokeswoman Charla Neuman said. But she said gun
laws are the jurisdiction of the state and to having more teeth in the
prohibition would mean working with the state. Mallahan's statement
was signficant because whether the city has the ability to pass
tougher gun control measures than the state is at the heart of the
legal fight facing the city. Gun rights groups said Friday they would
sue if the ban is enacted. Nickels, an advocate of gun restrictions
who will be leaving office after being ousted in the primary. But
before he goes, he is trying to enact the gun restrictions he
initially talked about earlier this year…
Castle Doctrine Proposed in Wisconsin: Proposed state legislation
would give more legal protection to homeowners and residents who use
deadly force to defend themselves from an intruder who has broken in.
The proposal addresses situations such as Jamie Chen's shooting and
killing of Roberto Vega-Gil Wednesday, after Vega-Gil broke into
Chen's Fitchburg home with what police officials said was the
intention to carry out a burglary. Current law only allows a homeowner
to use lethal force as a defense if he or she believes the force was
necessary to prevent death or serious injury. District attorneys
typically review such situations to establish whether a homeowner
possessed a credible belief… Holperin's proposal requires courts to
presume a homeowner believed death was a possibility, if lethal force
was used in self defense. "The individual should have the benefit of
the doubt that the harm is going to come to the homeowner." There are
both senate and assembly versions of the proposal. The senate proposal
is being considered by the judiciary committee…
http://www.wkowtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=11158146
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Arizona Needs Firearms Freedom Act: It seems there is hardly a day
passing that does not witness another one of our rights infringed by
an aggressive and activist federal government. In this atmosphere,
states are reasserting their sovereignty and their rights under the
Constitution. The state of Montana has made a law directly challenging
the right of the feds to regulate firearms that are manufactured and
kept in the state… Alan Gottlieb, founder of the Second Amendment
Foundation, told me there are at least 20 states working on such
legislation. But not Arizona. Arizona has a provision in its
Constitution similar to that in the U.S. Constitution. It says, "The
right of the individual citizen to bear arms in defense of himself or
the State shall not be impaired, but nothing in this section shall be
construed as authorizing individuals or corporations to organize,
maintain, or employ an armed body of men." … Arizona should join the
other states that are asserting their sovereignty and demand the
federal government respect and live within the Constitution.
Oops, Wrong Mom: She may be 75, but she's still a mom. Jesse Williams,
28, discovered that truism Thursday night when the mother of a man he
allegedly was fighting shot him once in the leg to stop the assault on
her son. According to Morgan County [TN] Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy
William Angel, Williams broke into David Brandenburg's residence at
905 Back Petros Road. The 43-year-old Brandenburg was home and began
struggling with the intruder. The fighting men spilled out from the
house and onto the yard, where Brandenburg's mother, Ruth Robbins,
heard the commotion. Robbins lives next door, Angel said. When Robbins
tried to intervene, Williams allegedly assaulted her, Angel said.
Robbins then shot Williams once in the leg near the groin area… (It's
hard to say if Robbins was actually aiming where she struck, a bit low
for a pelvis shot
[http://www.spw-duf.info/emperor.html#pelvis%20shots]. Wounds to the
lower abdomen and leg are common when shots are jerked or pushed low
and, typically, to the non-dominant side. Williams is lucky to be
alive as the shot must have come very close to his femoral artery.)
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2009/sep/19/75-year-old-moms-aim-is-true/
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No Charges in Post-Robbery Shooting: A 76-year-old man who shot and
killed a teenager who broke into his home will not face charges,
according to the Mecklenburg County [NC] District Attorney's Office.
The DA released a statement on Friday, saying that an investigation
determined that C.L. McClure shot 15-year-old suspect Marcus Fluker in
self-defense. McClure told authorities that four teens broke into his
home in August. The men allegedly tied up McClure and his wife. Once
McClure got free, police say, he chased the teens down with his car
and confronted them at a nearby apartment complex. Fluker was shot
during the confrontation and died at a hospital. The statement from
the district attorney's office reads, in part, "His idea to find the
vehicle and try to delay the escape of those who invaded his home did
not make him the aggressor nor did that take away his right of self
defense. Mr. McClure believed that his life was in danger and fired
in self-defense."
http://www.wcnc.com/news/topstories/stories/wcnc-091809-mw-mcclure-no-charges.191dc7aa9.html#
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Kentucky Barber Offers Chance to Win AK-47 Clone: Get a haircut, get a
chance on an AK-47 rifle; that's the offer from a Louisville
barbershop. The shop owner said he's just trying to raise awareness to
the right to bear arms, but the gun promotion is drawing fire. A
customer at the Okolona barbershop will win a Romanian made AK-47…
Bruce Gooden teaches gun safety. He's a certified concealed carry
instructor, a lifetime member of the NRA and he cuts hair. The more
involved someone is with guns and gun rights, the more chances they
have to win the $750 semi-automatic weapon. "You get one ticket per
customer. If you are an NRA member you get two. If you join the NRA
you get six," said Gooden… The Okolona barbershop plans to give away
the AK-47 just in time for Christmas.
http://www.wlky.com/news/20991636/detail.html
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California Girl Participates in Speed Shooting Competition: Since her
family took her out shooting when she was five-years old, Jenna
Arellano has shown a knack for the sport of speed shooting… So much so
that at only 11 years old this Crescent City girl has just competed in
the World Speed Shooting Championships (Steel Challenge) last month in
Piru, Calif., as well as receiving praise from one of the top female
shooters in the world. Jenna finished in 4th place in the pre-teen
open class division as the youngest participant… Monte Arellano is
also a speed shooter and said it has been a wonderful way for his
family, including his son, 8, and his wife to spend time together. He
said he is proud of his daughter's abilities and the way she has
learned the importance of gun safety. She learned from an early age
to respect her weapon and has learned first-hand about her Second
Amendment rights, her father said… (From the position of her head in
the photo, I'd wager that, like many female shooters, Jenna is
right-handed and left-eyed.)
http://www.triplicate.com/20090917106971/Sports/Sports/Taking-her-best-shot
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NRA-ILA Alerts: List members are encouraged to read the alerts for the
week, posted on the NRA-ILA website.
